ordinance was only valid when administered in the two kinds. He believed the reform of Church discipline as demanded by Hus to be a necessity. He certainly entertained an undying hatred of King Sigismund, believing—in accordance with his views, derived from the Old Testament—that it was his duty to avenge the treacherous murder of Hus. The opinions expressed by foolish ultramontanes and equally foolish socialists, who describe Žižka as a communist or leveller, are absolutely unhistorical. Žižka belonged to the estate of the “zemans,” the gentry of Bohemia, and had in most respects the same views as other men of his rank. Only his unrivalled military genius and his great gift of statesmanship placed him above them. Thus it gave him much pleasure to receive the order of knighthood after his brilliant victories near Kutna Hora, and—absolutely disinterested as he was—he yet did not hesitate to accept the gift of a small castle near Litoměrice, which the Bohemian estates offered him in recognition of his services to the nation. He gave his new castle the name of Kalice (chalice) as token of his religious views. From this time he always called himself “John Žižka of the chalice,” according to the Bohemian custom, as the knights and nobles then refused titles and took their name from their castles.
According to the contemporary chroniclers Žižka’s body was conveyed to Králové Hradec, where he had many friends, by Ambrose, parish priest of that town, and the priest Prokupek, afterwards famous as a leader of the “Orphans.” It is stated that his remains were afterwards transferred to Časlav, and according to Theobaldus,[1] who writes as one who had seen the tomb, they were interred near an altar on which were placed portraits of Hus and Žižka. Under the portrait of Hus were written the following lines:
“Husse, tuus vindex jacet hic dux Žižka Johannes,
Supplex Sigmundus cui quoque Cæsar erat,
Et quoniam bustis clarent loca multa, sepulchrum
Žižka Caslaviæ fama perennis erit.”
- ↑ Zacharias Theobaldus, Hussitenkrieg, 1623, pp. 228–289.
